Sullivan Says US Taking Steps To Support Iranians Protesting Amini's Deaths

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2022) The United States is taking a series of "aggressive steps" to support Iranians that took part in the protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.

On September 13, Amini was detained by the Iranian morality police in Tehran for wearing an "improper" head covering. The young Kurdish woman fell into a coma while in police custody and died a few days later. This sparked weeks of mass protests that escalated into unrest in Tehran and several other large cities. Unconfirmed reports suggest that 41 people were killed and about 100 were injured during protests.

The US intends to bring to justice Iranian government officials who have cracked down on protesters, Sullivan told CNN.

Sullivan added that he met this week with Iranian activists who operate outside of Iran to hear their proposals on what else the US should do to support the protests in Iran.

At the end of September, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced an expansion of a general license, allowing for a greater range of internet services to be provided to Iran. The measure came amid reports that Iranian citizens were experiencing internet outages.

On October 7, the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization said that Amini's death was not caused by blows to the head or vital organs but by cerebral hypoxia, which led to hypotension and multiple organ failure. Tehran maintains that the protests were instigated from abroad.